Review: Sweetwater by Lisa Henry

Elijah Carter is afflicted. Most of the townsfolk of South Pass City treat him as a simpleton because he’s deaf, but that’s not his only problem. Something in Elijah runs contrary to nature and to God. Something that Elijah desperately tries to keep hidden.

Harlan Crane, owner of the Empire saloon, knows Elijah for what he is—and for all the ungodly things he wants. But Crane isn’t the only one. Grady Mullins desires Elijah too, but unlike Crane, he refuses to push the kid.

When violence shatters Elijah’s world, he is caught between two very different men and two devastating urges: revenge, and despair. In a boomtown teetering on the edge of a bust, Elijah must face what it means to be a man in control of his own destiny, and choose a course that might end his life . . . or truly begin it for the very first time.

I received this book for free from the Publisher or Author in exchange for an honest review, or I purchased it with my own funds. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Sweetwater by Lisa Henry had me reeling and cheering at the same time. From the first pages of the books, I loved and hated many of the characters. Sexual gratification and inhibitions ran amok, as Ms. Henry introduced us to the people of South Pass City.

Elijah was a young man, afflicted with deafness, but not slow-witted, as some would assume. He was dealt a hard and tough hand in life- the death of his family, his disability, and the need to submit sexually to those stronger than him. I wanted to wrap Elijah in cotton and protect him from the world.

Having said that, though, I believe that Elijah was one of the strongest characters written. Ms. Henry delivered satisfaction in light of the many obstacles Elijah faced. His tumultuous relationship with Harlan Crane, and the sexual acts he submits too, to the cowboy style compassion he receives from Grady.

A time period novel that delivered hardened cowboys, rustlers and men of grit. Sweetwater was not a novel of flowery prose, but a characterization of the hardships of the west in a time when men were expected to act a certain way and being different was frowned upon.

Hi! I’m Lisa Henry, author of Sweetwater! I’m touring the web talking about my inspiration, my writing process, and giving you a behind-the-scenes look at Sweetwater. And of course there’s a giveaway! You could win a title from my back catalogue, as well as a $20 Riptide gift voucher!

South Pass City

When Rachel Haimowitz from Riptide approached me and asked me to write her a western, I agreed before giving it any real thought. Which is okay. If I stopped to think things through, I’d never get anything done.

So, armed with only a vague idea of characters and a plot, the first thing I needed to do was find a place. Things got a bit complicated for a while after that. The internet is a great place to start researching, but sometimes it’s hard to find what you need in that avalanche of information. I’m not sure when South Pass City first pinged my radar as a possible location, but it very, very quickly became obvious that it was the perfect location.

South Pass City was seen as the halfway point on the Oregon Trail, at the crossroads between the east of the continent and the west.

It was a gold mining town and, in 1870, was still riding the boom. But as little as a year later, it would be a bust. First the gold dried up but, more importantly, the railroad ran too far south. And once the railroad was built, the Oregon Trail become obsolete.

South Pass City had no church. Actually, some sources say it had a church by 1870, and some say it didn’t. I chose to go with the sources that said it didn’t. The west has such a reputation for being lawless, I wanted to make it a little godless as well.

South Pass City had the first female Justice of the Peace, Esther Morris. Not exactly relevant to the story I was telling, but fascinating nonetheless. In a rough frontier town where men outnumbered women four to one, she must have been a hell of a tough lady.

Now, months later, I’m the proud owner of quite a few books about South Pass City. That’s one of the things I love about writing historical fiction. A year ago I didn’t even know where I was going to set my western. Now, I kind of want to visit Wyoming.

Thanks for following the tour! To celebrate the release, I’m giving away an ebook from my back catalogue, as well as a $20 Riptide gift voucher. All you have to do is leave a comment on this post with a way for me to contact you, be it your email, your twitter, or a link to your facebook or goodreads account. Please put your email in thebody of the comment, not just in email section of the comment form, because I won’t be able to see it otherwise! On October 8, I’ll draw a winner from all eligible comments! Be sure to follow the whole tour, because the more comments you leave, the more chances you have to win the

prize!

About the Author

Lisa Henry lives in tropical North Queensland, Australia. She doesn’t know why, because she hates the heat, but suspects she’s too lazy to move. She spends half her time slaving away as a government minion, and the other half plotting her escape.

She attended university at sixteen, not because she was a child prodigy or anything, but because of a mix-up between international school systems early in life. She studied History and English, neither of them very thoroughly.

She shares her house with too many cats, a dog, a green tree frog that swims in the toilet, and as many possums as can break in every night. This is not how she imagined life as a grown-up.

Why have I not found Lisa Henry – author – before? This sounds like an interesting book and the “behind the scenes” look at it was fascinating! Loved it. Especially when I read the bio and found out Lisa is from Australia! But, writing a wonderful story about the settling of the American west. I need to go read now. Thank you. pansyparsons at hotmail dot com